'Dont worry about the mess you inherit, ... it probably isnt your job to sort out'

If only, this time it is my job and theres no one to pass that buck to ... :-)

I found this book useful. Refactoring : Improving the Design of Existing Code
But the problem is it's OOP oriented with examples in java.
Anybody have a good book they can recommend for redesigning existing code in a non-OOP/non-OOP->OOP world?
But it does contain some ways of identifying what exactly in the code feels wrong.
Bad code smells funny, but sometimes it's harder to isolate what makes it that way.
I used this to make my college group projects go easier.

check out these two articles by MJD on perl.com:
Program Repair Shop and Red Flags
Return of Program Repair Shop and Red Flags

they were really helpful for me.

jeff

I would recommend Code Complete for basic coding style, variable names, etc.

It is the little things that I found incredibly useful. Like the advice to make the names of flags be yes/no questions so you don't forget whether it is supposed to be true or false.

',this time it is my job' in which case best of luck - but at least you have a clear definition of what you have to do and hopefully you have agreed the resources and timescales before starting...